An inquiry steered from the top?

17-04-2015, by Susanne Berger , ed. Academia.edu

Twenty-five years later, still many loose ends in three major Cold War Cases

In 1944, the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg went to Hungary to protect the Jewish population of Budapest from deportation and death at the hands of Nazi death squads. In six short months, he managed to save thousands of lives and aided countless more by implementing an extensive humanitarian aid effort. In January 1945, he was arrested by Soviet troops and disappeared in the Soviet Union. In 1957, Soviet authorities announced that he had died in a Moscow prison in July 1947. They never presented any conclusive evidence for this claim and the full circumstances of his fate remain unknown.

On June 13, 1952 a Soviet fighter plane shot down a Swedish DC-3 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic sea.1

The DC-3, which is believed to have carried an eight men crew, was unarmed and had been flying over international waters at the time of the incident. Swedish authorities denied for years that the crew had been engaged in intelligence gathering activities, claiming instead that the plane had been on a simple training exercise. Three days after the loss of the DC-3, another Swedish plane that was engaged in the search effort was also attacked. It was able to make an emergency landing, despite heavy fire, incurring no casualties.2

From December 1941 – November 1981 eighteen Swedish ships vanished, all of them traveling through the Baltic Sea. Some fell victim to bad weather conditions or un-cleared mines. However, several of the ships were known to have engaged in smuggling refugees to and from Poland. They also played a role in infiltrating Swedish agents into iron curtain countries and other intelligence operations. These activities were carried out with the active assistance of Swedish as well as Allied intelligence personnel. The precise circumstances of the ships’ disappearance and the fate of their crews remain a mystery. The vessels carried more than one hundred people.

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2 Responses to “An inquiry steered from the top?”

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MAY, 30: 2015 / REDERI AB ERUTHS: TRELLEBORG
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I take the liberty of commenting, even this more generalized and compiled analysis, over the years, written by Susanne Berger , of the real and presumed Soviet Russia´s handling of and behaviour/patterns in her relations with Sweden, during the cold war, 1945-1952-1981. That last year, the Soviet navy´s own submarine U-137,(Whiskey-class) went a ground in southern Sweden, causing both fear, and some jokes, but too many people have perished here, during for long times, of quite unknown reasons, causing suffering not only for the victims, but economic hardships, and sorrow, left for the relatives, for ever.
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THE (SHIPOWNER) REDERI AB ERUTHS: TRELLEBORG:
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Source /www: The shipowners the Rederi AB Eruths, existed from 1925 to 1957, when the last Sture-ship, disappeared from the oceans. Eruths had then been, managing five (5) steamers, cargoships. They were : (1.) Sten Sture (2.) Bengt Sture (3.) Nils Sture , (4.) Sten Sture II, (5.) Sven Sture, the latter 64 years old, when purchased, 1947.
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S/S BENGT STURE : (-1942) NOT A « HAPPY SHIP « .
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This shipowner suffered a series of expensive and unaccountable groundings, ship-wreckings, and at last two total loss of ships. S/s Bengt Sture was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine 1942, October 28, and sunk. Some of the crew was rescued and probably became pows in Russia, but disappeared, as millions other then, during the war.

But already in December 1935, a serious accident during Swedish flag occurred, when Bengt Sture, stranded outside Nantes, on the French westcoast. The ship was anchored, when the chain broak off in stormy weather, and was grounded on a sandbank, but could be salvaged and repaired.

1936, April 23, a new accident, Bengt Sture left Gävle bound for Wasa in Finland, with the cargo of 1.200 ton of wheat. The weather became foggy, and the ship, went astray and was heavy, grounded on Vargö Gaddar outside Wasa. Both the fore tanks and the ship was serious damaged, had a leak, and became filled of water. The stern was intact. The cargo must be unloaded, the place was unprotected against wind, and the sea. But good weather,divers, and bilge-pumps made the ship afloat, and then anchored on deeper sea.

Then (after two days) the ship sailed, again, assisted bound for the Vasklot harbor in Wasa, for even more repair works. But the shipowner decided the repairs should be done in Sweden, Oskarshamn. Bengt Sture sailed then May 2, but just ouside Wasa, she coll-ided with the German steamer, S/s Stubbenhunk. The damage was then limited, but in-creased the costs, for the insurance company, now up to 53.000:- SEK (today 1.5 mill-ion)

1939, the 1st engineer, mr Rosén , was jailed in Riga/Latvia, and the ship was put on embargo, for a while, when one longshoreman during loading, was killed and some others wounded in an accident, May 23, with the winch.

1940, Bengt Sture was caught by the ice, between Trelleborg´s lighthouse (outer) and Falsterbo, and floated into the German Kriegsmarine´s minefields. Some mines explo-ded just meters from the shiphull, and the crew had to be evacuated. But as a matter of fact, through the explosions the ship became afloat. 1942 another light collide,with the cargoship, s/s Vasaborg, March 1, during Bengt Sture´s mooring for the winter.
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S/S STEN STURE: (-1947.)
————————————————————————http://www./ – — » Was built, in 1900, as Mount Vernon, 1.300 tons dw, sold 1922, to a Swedish shipowner, in Gothenburg, H. Levander, who named her : Elisabeth. She was leased 1929, of AB Banantransport, fruit cargoes between the continent and Northern Europe.

1929 she was sold to Sven Saléns´´s (!) shipping company, Rederi AB Westindia, later address, the Strandvägen 7A, Stockholm, and was named « Sverre Neergard ». Sten Sture stayed outside the WW2 -German Navy-blockade, during the war. She sailed with fish cargoes between Hull/U.K. and Iceland, for three years without convoying.

But 1946, sold to Rederi AB Eruths (Sture Eruths), Trelleborg, for cargoes of coal be-tween Gdynia/Poland and Sweden. She left Gdynia, January 26, 1947, bound for Hels-ingborg, but disappeared all together, with the whole crew. But Sten Sture was discov-ered, outside Wladyslwowo in Bay of Gdynia, and Polish divers started investigations, 1997.

This http://www.-source, a shipresearcher, didn´t suspected a mine-explosion due to the da-mages. The ship´s superstructures, was gone, but there was a hole in the hull, but thro-ugh both the bows, and no damage in the bottom, so perhaps caused by other ship´s dragging anchors. This researcher then suspected that the ship had turned over,and gone down in a storm.
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(*Anchored mines, deep under a ship, seem most dangerous, floating single mines will often be washed away of the ship´s hull, and if exploded, most of the energy goes right up in the air. A torpedo will often strike under the waterline, more dangerous, as the case of the coastal steamer S/s Hansa, November 24, 1944, northwest of Gotland.(Soviet submarine) (Hansa then carried as to complicate things, 3.000 kg´s of military explo-sives, but was allowed only 500 kg´s.)
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** Cargoes and stores of coal, have always a wellknown risk of s.c. dust-explosions, spontaneous ignition, if frequent in shipcargoes unknown. Ships, were /will always be object for criminal acts, like piracy, (perhaps espec., postwar WW2 in this extremely war-ravaged zones, perhaps with fast boats, and heavy armed gangs, »Somalia »-styled.), sabotage, insurance fraud, perhaps older ships, in times, of economic depression. Swe- dish ships could have been involved, in smuggling of refugees, the need was huge, both then and today (Libya) a dangerous business, but with big revenues, we perhaps, didn´t understand then.)

(*Even many of those Danish fishermen , transporting the Jewish refugees from Den-mark, October, 1943, are said to have made fortunes. Seaman were always a low paid workforce.We know from Budapest , 1944, how much money and bribes,were impor-tant.)
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The captain Gösta Rudnert, served in the Swedish Navy, the « dreadnought », HMS Sverige, and later, 1943, in the Navy staff, district of the (Öre)Sound. The ship was sometimes bound for Fårö, then by the military, » Restricted area »/Sperrgebiet » Zutritt verboten » for aliens, reasons unknown. /S.Berger/K.v.Seth 2010)

(*Former navy captains recruited to civil shipping, were perhaps, recruited of the Swe-dish military intelligence, (or foreign), as intelligence agents, « of first rate », perhaps even in secret operations.)

(* The British intelligence, « British Baltic Fishery Protection Service » as cover, MI6 and former Kriegsmarine´s captain H.H. Klose made from 1949-1955, thirteen (13) land-ings with 55 agents, on the coast from Kurland up to Saarema (Ösel).(Poland/USSR). At least two such operations are confirmed, 1950/51 with Swedish involvement. Most
missions used old German WW-torpedoboats, later new built » Schnellbooten,(3) with the purpose of mapping of radar stations, military spotlights, coastal artillery against sea-and airtargets, airfields, civil fishing harbors for hiding, and restricted/exercise-areas. But most agents were « neutralized », of the Soviet´s secret service.)

Of interest is that Westgermany (BRD) in fact U.S/UK, used the former intelligence head of the nazi´s Abwehr, Fremde Heere Ost/FHO, Reinhard Gehlen, as leader with « Alte kameraden » in his OG ,in Pullach, to 1956/(Source : *Sigurd Hess 2013)
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* In the crew there were two Estonians : Valentin Roots, Stockholm, (.b.28),and Reimut Mänd, Mölndal, (b.24) without citizenship, then 1947. Even in the crew of Bengt Sture (1942) there were an Estonian,Valentin Roots, (the same first and surname) but un-known citizenship.
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« – Year 2000, the Polish journal Polityka, claimed that Polish authorities, only during 1947, had stopped three (3) Swedish ships: Eugen,Cecilia and Arabert, accused of smuggling refugees, and seriously warned the Swedes, if not giving up that traffic. (Source : Wilczak and Johnsson, ”Grozny brzeg” Polityka, Nr 41, 2000-10-07). /DN/S.Berger/ K.v. Seth 2010)
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But many in the former crews of the mentioned s/s Arabert, claims,today www, she was a » happy ship », with good internal relations. (and no groundings I hope ?)
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JUNE 3:2015: PERHAPS S/S STEN STURE BECAME COVERED WITH ICE AND SANK :1947 ?
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I forgot a danger for many ships then, probably – to be covered with ice, (nedisning) and go down. 1947 the Swedish press reported February 10: « Because of the very cold weather, two Swedish ships hadn´t been in contact with their shipping companies, for
14 days, the crew was in all, 29 persons.

The Swedish ice-breaking trainferry M/s Starke (SJ) assisted ships in the Bay of Gdynia. The Danish shipping was complete closed down. But three Swedish steamers(stimkassar) had arrived to Stockholm´s harbor: S/s Nils Sture (the same(!) shipowner, as Sten Sture, Eruths), and s/s Koster, and s/s Arabert, (see above (!) The ARA -shipping.
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And from a www-site dealing with the Swedish´s airforce German JU86/B3 the two-engined bombers purchased 1939. – » One mission that attracted attention, was F17´s
(wing) Ronneby/Kallinge, was ice-reconnaissance , and rescuing of frozen fast ships in the Baltic Sea, during the hard winter of 1947.

Between February 6, and April 6, they covered an area from Gotland and southern Baltic Sea, and to the west, Kattegatt and Skagerack, up to the Norwegian border. Six aircra-fts, participated in airdrops of necessities, to the ships. (Recorded on film.)
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So, Sten Stures tragic disappearance, 1947, January 26, could have been caused of Cold war or Cold weather, or both, or something else. There were of course, other problems then, than the « global warming. »
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